At least three forest officials, including a forester, a forest guard and a logging assistant of the UP Forest Corporation, were suspended on Friday after a consignment of alleged illegally diverted khair (Acacia catechu) wood was recovered in Maheshpur forest range of south Kheri forest division on the night of July 5.
Preliminary investigation found that the khair wood, collected from the Dudhwa buffer zone, was allegedly being transported to a destination other than the designated UP Forest Corporation depot at Chhouch on the outskirts of Lakhimpur city.
Field director of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Dr H Rajamohan, who also holds additional charge as regional manager of the UP Forest Corporation in Lakhimpur Kheri, said forester Vikas Nagar, forest guard Abhishek and logging assistant Shiv Murti were suspended with immediate effect.
He said the transit permit bore the signatures of the forester and logging assistant, indicating alleged dereliction of duty, while the forest guard was suspended for prima facie negligence. Divisional logging manager NS Dugtaal and Dhaurahra range officer AK Srivastava have also been asked to submit their explanations.
Rajamohan said further investigation is underway to verify the origin, quantity and place of felling of the recovered logs, adding that stricter action would follow after the probe is completed.
Acting on a tip-off on the night of July 5, divisional forest officer Tapas Mihir, along with Maheshpur range officer NP Shahi and other staff, intercepted the consignment on the Gola-Sikandrabad road and recovered more than 100 khair logs bearing forest department stamps.
Deputy director of the Dudhwa buffer zone Kirti Chaudhary told Hindustan Times that a 15-member inquiry team headed by a sub-divisional officer was constituted to ascertain where the wood was cut and how it reached Maheshpur range.
Khair (Acacia catechu) is prized for its durable timber and for producing katha (catechu) used in paan. It is also used as fuelwood, charcoal and for making agricultural tools.
